Egypt

ARTICLES ABOUT EGYPT BY DATE - PAGE 3

He got the groove from his dad, the legendary Fela Anikulapo Kuti, who pioneered Nigeria's Afrobeat music. The genre, part house party, part social activism, brought Fela Kuti fame and grief. His songs against government corruption and human-rights abuses earned him frequent beatings, incarcerations and the 1978 death of his mother, who was thrown from a third-story balcony by armed thugs. New audiences are discovering the senior Kuti's story through a Broadway musical "Fela!" which won three Tony awards in 2010 and started a new world tour last month in Chicago.

Sitting at the seder this year, it's understandable that we Jews have more than the ancient Egyptians on our minds. Today we have good reason to be nervous once more about our survival. An avowed enemy, making clear his intent to destroy us, is well on its way to having the nuclear capability to carry out his threat. In spite of the countless diplomatic efforts, the sanctions and the political pressure placed on the leadership of Iran, nothing appears to be swaying them from carrying out their version of the final solution.

No matter one's Jewish background, it is known that afikomen refers to that time in the Passover seder when we break the matzah, setting aside half for the children to find. This, as a process to keep the youngsters awake. Many of us have memories of looking for the afikomen — a sweet family tradition which evokes memories of our connection to our parents and grandparents. In truth however, afikomen has deeper meaning. On its simplest level it reminds us that we were slaves in Egypt.

As the one-year anniversary of Egypt's Tahrir Square uprising came and went, many commentators felt obliged to wax positive about the revolution in the country. The analysts didn't want to appear to be cynical on hopes that Egypt will emerge as a wonderful beacon of democracy in the Middle East. But in order to keep up the optimism, everyone must keep making excuses for the reality. A New York Times editorial on Jan. 21 claimed that "Worsening economic conditions are further sabotaging hopes for a democratic future" in Cairo.

'Egyptian security forces said Sunday that they have seized eight anti-aircraft missiles and four shoulder launchers in the Sinai Peninsula, AFP reported. The weaponry entered Egypt either from Sudan or Libya, the officials said, adding that they were probably destined for the Gaza Strip, according to the report. The smugglers managed to flee before security forces arrived at the location near the Suez canal. Late last month, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported that Egyptian officials were finalizing plans to combat smuggling from the Sinai Peninsula into the Gaza Strip.

Hundreds of people were protesting outside the Israeli Embassy in Cairo last Friday demanding that the ambassador be removed from the country. The protests came amid tensions between the two countries following the deaths of three Egyptian security officers who were apparently shot by IDF troops recently. Egyptian security forces were deployed in the area around the embassy amid fears that the demonstrations, dubbed the "Million-man march" could turn violent. In Tehran, hundreds of protesters gathered in the streets to mark "Jerusalem Day" in an anti-Israel rally.

Art from cities around the world is on display at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, Egypt. And Lauderhill artist Liliana Gerardi has made sure her work is represented. Gerardi has had two of her pieces accepted into the Bibliotheca Alexandrina International Biennale for Miniature Graphics. A Lauderhill resident since 2000 when she emigrated from Argentina, Gerardi has a bachelor's degree in fine arts from Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. She describes her art as ranging from the symbolic to the abstract and thinks of it as a way of communicating with others.

Once again, Egyptians are showing the way for their brethren in the Arab world. More than two months after President Hosni Mubarak resigned from office, they are demonstrating that you can stage a successful revolution, watched and admired by most everyone in the world, but that does not change who you are. On their way to democracy, in which everyone is supposed to have equal rights, tens of thousands of people in southern Egypt have been...

Lara Logan, the CBS correspondent who was brutally sexually assaulted by an Egyptian mob, is coming back to tell her story on "60 Minutes" Sunday. Logan was covering the unrest in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Feb. 11 when she became separated from her crew and bodyguards as a mob of several hundred men encircled her. For 25 minutes the mother of two was beaten and sexually assaulted, she tells Scott Pelley in an excerpt provided by CBS. "There...

When bombs are falling, bullets are flying and people are dying, it is a war. Like it or not, the United States is engaged in a war in Libya. As callous as it may sound, it is also an opportunity to salvage the U.S. reputation in the Muslim world while protecting thousands of innocent Libyans who otherwise will be slaughtered by the tyrant of Tripoli. Whether or not it turns into a bruised-up, dragged-on struggle, a civil war or a swift resolution like Egypt depends upon U.S. resolve, and how direct and decisive U.S. policy is applied.